


My, My, I Should Not Have Let You Go

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Breaking Up & Making Up, F/M, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-18 19:17:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16523066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Deryk very quickly falls in love with Melissa, but the relationship ends when he moves away. What happens when he moves back?





	My, My, I Should Not Have Let You Go

**Author's Note:**

> Another hockey month, another VGK Monthly! =D
> 
> Player of the month = Deryk Engelland  
> Trope of the month = breaking up and making up
> 
> I thought of this fic after reading Deryk's article in the Players' Tribute, specifically when he talks about how he met his wife Melissa. (You can read it [here,](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/deryk-engelland-this-is-for-las-vegas) but be warned that it talks about the Vegas shooting.) I've changed certain details for this fic, but quite a bit of it is straight from that article.
> 
> I'm very happy to be returning to what I've tentatively dubbed the "milkshakes soul bond universe," in which your soul bond means that you taste whatever your soulmate's eating or drinking. =]

Deryk glanced up as another group of people walked into the bar. It was a group of women, one of whom left Deryk struggling to keep his jaw from dropping. She was gorgeous, and her laugh echoing across the bar sounded lovelier than anything Deryk had ever heard.

After a few minutes, Deryk downed the last few sips of his drink and made his way up to the woman. "Hi," he said with what he hoped was a dazzling smile. "I'm Deryk."

"I'm Melissa," the woman replied, extending her hand. "I'm a master's student."

"I play hockey." Deryk flexed his arms ever so slightly.

"They have a hockey team here?" Melissa looked decidedly unimpressed.

"Yes," Deryk nodded. 

"Do they actually pay you to play?"

"Yes," Deryk nodded again. She didn't look any closer to impressed, so Deryk switched the topic: "What are you studying?"

Melissa began talking about her program. It was immediately apparent that she loved what she was studying, and it just made Deryk fall even harder.

At some point, Deryk looked at his watch and sighed. "I should get going - practice and a game tomorrow. I can give you my number?"

"Sure." Melissa typed it into her phone quickly. "Great to meet you, Deryk."

"You, too." Deryk walked towards the exit, then realized something and turned back around. "Hey, I'm sorry, but...I know you're not going to call me. So how about you give me your number and I call you?"

Melissa finally looked impressed with him. "Sure."

Deryk quickly typed in Melissa's number. "I'll call you," he promised as he left again, this time for good. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but somehow he already knew that this was the best thing that had ever happened or would ever happen to him.

_One Year Later_

For the tenth time in five minutes, Deryk glanced up and looked around Chance's Diner. And just like all those other times, nobody new was in the diner.

The robot knight waiter came over, his head tilted questioningly. "Does this happen a lot?" Deryk asked quietly, not wanting the people sitting a few tables away to overhear him. "She said she'd come, but she isn't here, and I haven't heard from her...but I really, really think she's the one. We went out a bunch of times after we met, and things were great, but she didn't want to do long-distance, so we broke up, but I'm back for good now and she said she'd come here to meet again..."

The robot patted Deryk on the back with a surprisingly soft hand. He then took the Gila monster figurine menu, pressed something on the bottom, and placed it back down. The screen now read BOOTH RESERVED.

"I don't understand..." Deryk blinked back the stinging in his eyes. He really didn't want to cry in front of a remarkably intelligent robot, not to mention the other people in the diner.

The robot pointed to the door, held his hand to the side of his head, then pointed to the booth. "You want me to go and call her?" The roobt nodded, then pointed to the menu screen. "Oh, you're saving my spot! I guess it makes sense you have a procedure for this sort of thing. Thank you!"

Deryk scrambled out of the diner and made the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Melissa, it's Deryk. I'm, uh, at the diner, and I was wondering if you were coming?"

"Honestly, I'm really confused by what I saw the other night at the game."

"Oh." Deryk wasn't sure what he'd been expecting her to say, but confusion about hockey definitely wasn't it, even though the other night's game had been Melissa's first. "What confused you?"

"You beating that guy up. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were...kind of crazy. Beating that guy up was a bit irrational, don't you think?"

"No, no, you don't understand!" Deryk protested. "It's my job! He was being a jerk! It's the code!"

Melissa sighed loudly. "I guess the fact the crowd seemed to be rooting for you proves your point. I'll be there in about a minute. See you soon."

Deryk's jaw dropped. She was coming! He turned on his heel and returned to his spot, where the robot was waiting for him. "She's about a minute away!"

And, indeed, Melissa entered the diner about forty-five seconds later. (Yes, Deryk had started counting as soon as the call had ended.) She smiled as she sat across from Deryk. "Hi. You look good."

"Hi. You look amazing." Deryk entered his order on the Gila monster figurine screen faster than he'd ever used a screen before, then looked up at Melissa and didn't look away again.

Melissa laughed softly as she tapped in her order. "So...we've only talked a couple of times since you moved, but you pick milkshakes for the first time we meet again in person?"

"Exactly," Deryk nodded. "I didn't know about this place back when we first met, but if I had known about it then, I would have made this our first date."

"Wow." Melissa shook her head slightly. "That...actually, it doesn't surprise me very much, now that I think about it. You were very clearly smitten right away. And...well, I missed you. I still think long-distance wouldn't have worked out, but I'm very glad to have this second chance."

Before Deryk got the chance to say anything, the robot brought their milkshakes to the table. "Thank you," Deryk and Melissa both said. The robot bowed and left.

They each took a sip of their respective milkshakes. "Mint chocolate chip," Melissa smiled.

"Black raspberry," Deryk replied. They used the second straws to confirm the tastes. "I knew it," Deryk marveled.

"You getting my number was the best thing that ever happened to you," Melissa laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> Do let me know if you have other players/ships you'd like to see in this universe! It's been all VGK so far, but it certainly doesn't have to stay that way!
> 
> Fic title is from the song "Mamma Mia!" by ABBA. =D
> 
> Also, I feel obligated to apologize for the dialogue at the bar. I've never been part of that sort of conversation, so I don't actually know what they sound like. =/ (This obviously doesn't apply to the parts which came directly from the article!!)


End file.
